A trio of last-minute lawsuits is putting pressure on the Nebraska Supreme Court to decide the fate of competing abortion amendment proposals ahead of the upcoming general election.
More than 20 doctors who support an abortion-rights amendment filed a lawsuit Friday, urging the court to either remove both abortion amendments from the ballot or allow both to remain. Their lawsuit joins two others, refiled the same day, from a Douglas County woman and a Lancaster County neonatologist, each seeking to eliminate the abortion-rights amendment from the ballot.
Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments
The Nebraska Supreme Court has agreed to hear all three lawsuits before Secretary of State Bob Evnen must finalize the Nov. 5 general election ballot on Sept. 13. Oral arguments are scheduled for 10 a.m. on Sept. 9. The lawsuits—two of which were brought by residents of Lancaster and Douglas Counties—highlight the intensifying legal battle over abortion rights in Nebraska.
In the newly filed lawsuit, the doctors argue that both amendments should be treated as a single issue, stating that voters should have the opportunity to weigh in on both simultaneously or not at all. They contend that the abortion-restriction amendment violates the constitutional rule requiring each ballot initiative to address only one subject, potentially confusing voters.
